Comments on: Benchmark and Benioff Put $6.5 Million Into Zuora to Create a Salesforce for Online Billing http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/ Startup and Technology News Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:03:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: PayPal President Scott Thompson Now On Zuora’s Board of Directors http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2457286 PayPal President Scott Thompson Now On Zuora’s Board of Directors Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:19:02 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2457286 [...] and Cheng Zou. Tzuo was the chief strategy officer at Salesforce.com prior to starting Zuora. Zuora raised about $6.5 million in funding from Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com and Benchmark [...] [...] and Cheng Zou. Tzuo was the chief strategy officer at Salesforce.com prior to starting Zuora. Zuora raised about $6.5 million in funding from Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com and Benchmark [...]

]]> By: Zuora, The Salesforce for Online Billing, Launches http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2311713 Zuora, The Salesforce for Online Billing, Launches Tue, 20 May 2008 11:00:02 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2311713 [...] Erick explained in March, Zuora aims to alleviate the need for online businesses to develop their own billing [...] [...] Erick explained in March, Zuora aims to alleviate the need for online businesses to develop their own billing [...]

]]> By: friends http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2043732 friends Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:06:19 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2043732 this is no salesforce! there are bunch of solutions and remember outsourcing billing isnt outsourcing collections---collections is the hard part not billing. what this is however is a missing feature core to netsuite that salesforce never built themselves....so salesforce will buy this if they get good traction. ceo good guy, although no leader. this is no salesforce! there are bunch of solutions and remember outsourcing billing isnt outsourcing collections—collections is the hard part not billing. what this is however is a missing feature core to netsuite that salesforce never built themselves….so salesforce will buy this if they get good traction. ceo good guy, although no leader.

]]> By: Gavin http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2043461 Gavin Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:02:24 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2043461 "But there is no good on-demand service that these companies can outsource their billing to." Do your homework instead of just reading the press release. There are several; Aria Systems, Lacayla/Opsource, just to name a few. “But there is no good on-demand service that these companies can outsource their billing to.”

Do your homework instead of just reading the press release. There are several; Aria Systems, Lacayla/Opsource, just to name a few.

]]> By: Matt Robinson http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036832 Matt Robinson Fri, 14 Mar 2008 05:31:04 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036832 Innovative solution to a hairy problem that even the largest SaaS vendors have failed to grapple with effectively. Big market that will only continue to grow, great ceo, and a user experience that should make Scoble re-think the attractiveness of enterprise software. Zuora will be one of the next SaaS success stories Innovative solution to a hairy problem that even the largest SaaS vendors have failed to grapple with effectively. Big market that will only continue to grow, great ceo, and a user experience that should make Scoble re-think the attractiveness of enterprise software. Zuora will be one of the next SaaS success stories

]]> By: Mike D. http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036580 Mike D. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:36:25 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036580 It's interesting to see the comparisons to Freshbooks. I might be wrong on this, but my perception of Freshbooks is that it is targeted to individuals or small businesses (designers, developers, lawyers, etc.) who have a relatively low volume of invoices - e.g. < 100 invoices per month. It appears that Zuora is aiming for larger companies but staying away from the Fortune 500. I think there is plenty of room for multiple players here to serve different types of companies. It’s interesting to see the comparisons to Freshbooks. I might be wrong on this, but my perception of Freshbooks is that it is targeted to individuals or small businesses (designers, developers, lawyers, etc.) who have a relatively low volume of invoices - e.g. < 100 invoices per month. It appears that Zuora is aiming for larger companies but staying away from the Fortune 500. I think there is plenty of room for multiple players here to serve different types of companies.

]]> By: webferret http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036566 webferret Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:25:48 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036566 Can it beat Freshbooks. Thats the question Can it beat Freshbooks. Thats the question

]]> By: jimmy http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036434 jimmy Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:38:11 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036434 Haven't adult-oriented subscription sites been using these types of services for years? How is this different than a company like Epoch or CCBill? Haven’t adult-oriented subscription sites been using these types of services for years? How is this different than a company like Epoch or CCBill?

]]> By: alex http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036369 alex Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:34:56 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036369 Weewar.com has been using Spreedly.com for exactly that reason and with great success. They are for selling our subscriptions every day :) Recurring and all. Weewar.com has been using Spreedly.com for exactly that reason and with great success. They are for selling our subscriptions every day :) Recurring and all.

]]> By: John Philip Green http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036263 John Philip Green Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:23:02 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036263 <a href="http://www.freshbooks.com/" rel="nofollow">FreshBooks</a> has a huge head start... they've been doing it, quite well, for 5 or 6 years. FreshBooks has a huge head start… they’ve been doing it, quite well, for 5 or 6 years.

]]> By: gilltots http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036170 gilltots Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:21:03 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036170 what about amazon flexible payment service? i'm pretty sure it can do subscription-based billing and micropayments, though i still haven't gotten a beta invite (hint hint). what about amazon flexible payment service? i’m pretty sure it can do subscription-based billing and micropayments, though i still haven’t gotten a beta invite (hint hint).

]]> By: Voices.com http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036151 Voices.com Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:07:54 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2036151 Our revenues are generated on a subscription basis. We currently building systems to automate payments from PayPal to Salesforce using PayPal's API data. For those customers who choose to pay by providing credit card details over the phone, we're stuck with manual transactions and faxing authorization forms. As you can imagine, a Salesforce/Zuora app would be a God-send. Our revenues are generated on a subscription basis. We currently building systems to automate payments from PayPal to Salesforce using PayPal’s API data. For those customers who choose to pay by providing credit card details over the phone, we’re stuck with manual transactions and faxing authorization forms.

As you can imagine, a Salesforce/Zuora app would be a God-send.

]]> By: User1 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035954 User1 Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:11:56 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035954 "Frustrated with the original commercial billing system they started out with at Salesforce,..." - I wonder which system this was? “Frustrated with the original commercial billing system they started out with at Salesforce,…” - I wonder which system this was?

]]> By: Alex http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035945 Alex Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:06:37 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035945 Are we talking about the same company here? This looks like a competitor to Benioff's company from a PaaS. The website does not discuss anything about billing other than Amazon references. Are we talking about the same company here? This looks like a competitor to Benioff’s company from a PaaS.
The website does not discuss anything about billing other than Amazon references.

]]> By: Robert Bardou http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035837 Robert Bardou Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:08:15 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035837 Interestingly - why Zuora? There are also other billing solutions. Can be on the transaction some reasons about which it has not been told have affected still? Interestingly - why Zuora? There are also other billing solutions. Can be on the transaction some reasons about which it has not been told have affected still?

]]> By: Jack http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035820 Jack Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:01:43 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035820 Aria Systems (www.ariasystems.com) does exactly this already but competition is always good. It's going to be hard to cut the 6%-8% in half though since 3% is probably credit card fees... Aria Systems (www.ariasystems.com) does exactly this already but competition is always good. It’s going to be hard to cut the 6%-8% in half though since 3% is probably credit card fees…

]]> By: BlogSign http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035747 BlogSign Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:30:46 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035747 Online billing is certainly <a href="http://www.appable.com/" rel="nofollow">appable</a>. Online billing is certainly appable.

]]> By: Jason M. Lemkin http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/13/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035628 Jason M. Lemkin Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:54:24 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/12/benchmark-and-benioff-put-65-million-into-zuora-to-create-a-salesforce-for-online-billing/#comment-2035628 It's a winner. Building your own highly complicated and still people-dependant billing system is a necessary evil that does absolution nothing for your top line or your customers. Much better to buy than build. It’s a winner. Building your own highly complicated and still people-dependant billing system is a necessary evil that does absolution nothing for your top line or your customers. Much better to buy than build.

]]>